With the aim of increasing and ensuring the sustainability of exports, which were described as an economic way out during the COVID-19 period, the Foreign Trade Specialist Competency Development Program, planned to meet the need of the OSTİM business community for foreign trade experts, has started.
The 90-hour program, to be held between January and March 2021, will provide training on 21 different topics in foreign trade. Participation in the program, which includes 186 participants from 92 companies, is free of charge. Classes will be given by experts from relevant public institutions, the OSTİM Foreign Trade Coordination Office, and professional trainers. In addition to the 90-hour course program, the training will also be supported by seminars open to general participation, organized with representatives from the Ministry of Trade, Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO), Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO), EXİMBANK, Central Anatolian Exporters' Associations, and KOSGEB.
The opening of the program was attended by ASO President Nurettin Özdebir, ATO President Gürsel Baran, OSTİM Board Chairman Orhan Aydın, Head of South Asian Countries Department of the Ministry of Trade Çağatay Özden, KOSGEB OSTİM Manager Hasan Şenel, Head of State Aid for Exports at Central Anatolian Exporters' Associations Neşe Turabık Büyükgöz, trainers, and the trainees.
Exporting is a professional occupation.
OSTİM Foreign Trade Coordinator Dr. Meral Gündüz stated that with the Foreign Trade Specialist Competency Development Program, which they launched under the theme "Export: The Vaccine of the Economy," they aim to develop human resources in the OSTİM business world and contribute to export being treated as a professional occupation, rather than providing a classic training program.
“Increasing companies’ exports is like worship for us”
Speaking at the opening of the program, which was initiated by the OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone Regional Directorate's Foreign Trade Coordination Office with the support of ASO and ATO, OSTİM Board Chairman Orhan Aydın noted that they brought together trade attachés from 22 countries with companies during the pandemic period.
Orhan Aydın stated that the OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone Foreign Trade Coordination Office is extremely active, publishing a Foreign Trade Diary and a Foreign Trade Bulletin, and added: “In an important project we carried out in our region before the pandemic, we brought our companies to the e-commerce environment with the support of our Ministry of Trade; we believe this will be very useful, especially during the pandemic, and will provide significant support to exports. The first activity of the OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone's 'Export Project: The Vaccine of the Economy' for 2021, the Foreign Trade Specialist Competency Development Program, was a great start to the year; increasing the exports of companies is a sacred duty for us. We thank all the individuals and institutions that contributed to the preparation of the program.”
Aydın emphasized that the program aims to improve the skills of foreign trade specialists currently employed by companies.
Ankara is at the forefront of advanced technology.
ASO President Nurettin Özdebir stated that, compared to neighboring countries, Turkey, which does not have a natural resource-based economy, has a highly developed production culture.
Özdebir pointed out that Turkey, which has limited energy resources and is dependent on foreign energy sources, produces in order to grow, and as it produces, its manufacturing culture develops, and it carries out production by experiencing it. He added, “Due to its historical location as a transit point between continents, entrepreneurs in this geography are also quite inclined towards foreign trade. A study conducted by the World Bank identified flexibility as one of the most important characteristics of Turkey's exports. In other words, if there is a problem in any market, Turkish exporters can quickly turn to different markets.”
"Both our geographical location and our cultural and historical heritage, particularly the aura surrounding Central Asian countries, the Middle East, and Africa, have a significant impact on this," he said.
Underlining that Ankara stands out particularly in the field of advanced technology when considering the technology of export products, the President of the Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO) stated: “Ankara's industry, which has the most sophisticated and high-quality production structure in Turkey, has always been among the top 5 cities in exports. Although this year we lost the 5th place to Gaziantep by a very small margin, coming in 6th. According to the data announced yesterday by TİM (Turkish Exporters Association), Gaziantep came in fifth with 7.935 billion dollars, while Ankara came in sixth with 7.766 billion dollars. It is clear that we need to work a little harder at this point. We need to work together to make up for this in 2021 and bring Ankara to the position it deserves.”
In the medical, defense, and aerospace sectors, our Ankara-based companies have accounted for 30% of Turkey's advanced technology investments. Therefore, I attach great importance to the Foreign Trade Specialist Competency Development Training Program, which is being launched today. As the Ankara Chamber of Industry, we conduct such programs every year. Our OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone, as in all areas, is also carrying out important projects aimed at improving the capabilities of our companies in the field of foreign trade. On this occasion, I congratulate everyone involved in the program and wish it success.”
“OSTİM’s exports represent a success for our city and our country.”
ATO President Gürsel Baran reminded that countries are trying to increase their export figures in order to raise income levels and increase exports.
Highlighting the importance of the program launched by OSTİM to develop exports, Baran said, "The export of products produced here and their reaching more countries means success not only for OSTİM, but also for our city and our country."
Gürsel Baran stated that SMEs are gaining importance worldwide due to their advantages in creating added value and employment, as well as their flexibility. He provided the information that SMEs constitute 99.8% of businesses in our country, 73.8% of employment, and 64.5% of total production. Baran also noted that the share of SMEs in exports has decreased, reminding that they account for only 56.3% of total exports.
We have launched an e-commerce and e-export campaign.
Pointing out that Turkey should prioritize exports and e-exports, given its dynamic production structure and accessibility to many countries via hourly flights, Gürsel Baran said, "Working towards making all of our more than 6,000 businesses operating in OSTİM exporters is important both for our national income and for our young population."
Reminding of ATO's export-oriented efforts, President Baran said, "The global e-commerce volume is at the level of 3.5 trillion dollars. Taking into account the growth rate of e-commerce and e-export in the world, we have launched an E-Commerce and E-Export Mobilization in our Chamber. In the first stage, we will enable 1,000 of our members to engage in e-commerce and e-export."
Baran stated that they wanted to enable ATO members to trade with the whole world without time and space limitations, adding, “We are aware of the importance of foreign trade for both our city and our country. Ankara is currently the sixth largest exporting city in Turkey. Our goal is to be the leader. For this, we are constantly developing new projects. Branding and Geographically Indicated Products are also on our agenda for this reason.”
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